WTO largely favors China in U.S. antidumping measures dispute

The World Trade Organization agreed with China in most aspects of its dispute against the United States over the methodology for how it assesses antidumping duties.    The World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed with China in most aspects of its dispute against the United States over the methodology for how the U.S. Commerce Department assesses antidumping duties.
   Specifically, China challenged the U.S. Commerce Department’s use of the exceptional weighted average-to-transaction (WA-T) methodology, including its use of “zeroing”; the department’s treatment of multiple exporters from so-called “non-market economies” (NMEs) as a NME-wide entity, or a single rate presumption; and its use of facts available to set antidumping duty rates for NMEs, as well as the level of those duty rates.
   Dumping occurs when a foreign company sells a product in an overseas market at less than fair value.
   In regards to the WA-T methodology for antidumping cases, WTO sided with China because Commerce “failed to take into account the export prices to all purchasers or in all time-periods, and provided no explanation for such an omission.”
   It also found Commerce’s ongoing and controversial use of zeroing impermissible. Although repeatedly challenged by other countries in the WTO, Commerce will, in certain antidumping cases, set at zero the difference between a product’s foreign domestic price and U.S. import price, which may result in higher duty assessments.
   In addition, the WTO agreed with China that Commerce should not access multiple exporters of NMEs with a generalized antidumping duty assessment. However, the WTO rejected taking up China’s claims related to the manner which Commerce set its antidumping rates for Chinese government-backed companies.